News
Span leaves team to investigate dizziness
Twins outfielder, Crede forced out early against Athletics
By Eric Gilmore / Special to MLB.com
06/10/09 3:20 PM ET
OAKLAND -- The Twins lost a pair of starters in Tuesday night's 10-5 victory over the Oakland A's, with a mixed prognosis following the game.Twins center fielder Denard Span was removed after the top of the second inning because of another bout of dizziness and will leave the team to reevaluate the problem.
Joe Crede was hit by a pitch in his left forearm in the eighth inning and left the game for a pinch-runner, but no serious damage was done and the third baseman could return to action on Wednesday.
Crede was listed as day-to-day, but manager Ron Gardenhire didn't sound worried after the game.
"Crede's fine. He got a graze, just another dot on him. He's got plenty of those."
Span, on the other hand, the skipper isn't sure about.
The outfielder already missed two games late last month when he complained of dizziness but returned to the lineup on May 26.
"We're sending him home tomorrow," Gardenhire said. "He's going to go and be checked out. He had a dizzy spell again, that he's had when he was at home. "He came and said he's really not feeling very good at all. So we are sending him home to see a specialist. He missed an appointment when he was home, the last homestand. He's going to have to go home and make that appointment. We're just going to have to play short here, and we're going to ... find out exactly what's going on." Team doctors have said that Span's problem could be thyroid-related, but they have yet to find a definitive reason for his recurring dizziness. Span's anxious to solve this mystery. "It's just scary," Span said. "It just aggravates. I know something's wrong. I know I how feel. Just not knowing what it is or why. I think when I find out why, I'll feel a little bit better." Span said his energy level is fine. "I'm just feeling the same as far as [being] dizzy," Span said. "I just feel like I can't focus and concentrate when I'm hitting. I can kind of get away with it when I'm playing defense because things aren't happening as fast in the outfield. "Last couple days I've been feeling it, feeling the same way a little bit, but as the game would go on, things would get a little better. Today, I felt it in BP, but kept thinking once I start playing, once the game comes, I'll be all right. Just didn't feel right. I think my last at-bat, I just didn't even see the ball. I fouled off a pitch. I just feel like I didn't see the ball clearly out of his hand."Eric Gilmore is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
